“The vote count is clear. We look forward to sitting down with management to collectively bargain for the content employees at KPCC.”

He’s referring to a January 11 supervised tally of KPCC employees in favor of SAG-AFTRA unionization. But is a 35-to-26 vote count really that “clear?” FishbowlLA is somewhat surprised that nearly 40% of the 69 employees who will be covered by the new contract voted against it. (A union rep tells us that 69 ballots were cast, but eight challenged, hence the final vote total of 61.)

The KPCC yea-nay split is of course not dissimilar to many other election results. We just wonder what issues might have accounted for the sizable allotment of “no’s.” In a separate statement, SAG-AFTRA declared that it was “pleased and excited with the results of the union election at KPCC” and is “looking forward to working with the new SAG-AFTRA bargaining unit in partnership with KPCC management to negotiate a first contract.”

There are currently 25 union radio stations in Los Angeles.

Update – 01/19/13: Kevin Roderick‘s coverage of this news includes excerpts made before the vote by KPCC hosts Larry Mantle and John Rabe on the blog Reasons to Say No to SAG-AFTRA. The LAObserved chief says he contacted the two to find out more and that “after he inquired, the [Wordpress] website’s comments were moved behind a password wall.”